Marketing takeaways for your church from 'The Chosen'

Let’s talk about “The Chosen” and some possible takeaways for your church!

I attended my first National Religious Broadcasters Convention in 2021. A scaled-down post-pandemic version of its usual form, the convention was still, as it’s billed, the world’s largest gathering of Christian communicators. 

For advertisers, it offered seemingly endless space to tell thousands of communicators about their products. In 2021, “The Chosen” was on Season 2, and the NRB Convention offered the perfect opportunity for a vast array of visual marketing. 

“The Chosen” was everywhere! Hallways were lined with photos, episode screening opportunities were given, and the tents that fans of the show had watched their favorite characters travel with in Season 1 had even made their way to the convention center. 

This is where I heard Derral Eves, the series’ executive producer, speak about his experience as a video marketing specialist. Upon meeting him after his session, he gave me a copy of his new book, and I’ve since been slightly obsessed with the crowd-funded marketing engine that is “The Chosen.” 

Let’s talk about some takeaways for your church! 

In case you’re unfamiliar with the show, according to the show's official website, “The Chosen is a groundbreaking historical drama based on the life of Jesus Christ, seen through the eyes of those who knew him. Set against the backdrop of Roman oppression in first-century Israel, the seven-season show shares an authentic and intimate look at Jesus’ revolutionary life and teachings."

"With over 200 million viewers, The Chosen is one of the most-watched shows in the world. The series is consistently a top performer across streaming platforms Amazon Prime, Peacock, and Netflix plus a top-rated broadcast weekly on The CW. What started as a crowd-funded project has now garnered over 770 million episode views and more than 12 million social media followers.”

What can your church take away from “The Chosen” besides some amazing episodes, devotionals, cool swag and great small-group content? Marketing and branding tips! 

Let’s take a look at some of “The Chosen” brand values: 

Authentic: “The Chosen” brand guide reiterates a desire to stay authentic and they achieve this by being “honest, transparent, factual and humble.” They specifically point out that they don’t want their marketing to be “market-y.” While it may often be hard to distinguish real from fake in our AI-driven society, most people can clearly see when they’re being advertised to. 

Are you marketing your church in a transparent and authentic way, or are you portraying a glossy version of what you think people want to see? 

How can you achieve this? Photos of your church and the people in it. If someone shows up on Sunday, what you’ve advertised on social media should match what they find upon arrival. Have you been using photos showing a diverse congregation in your marketing? Make sure that’s a true example of your congregation. By being transparent in your marketing, you’re inviting people into an honest and factual view of your church, which in turn helps them determine if they want to take the step to open a door they’ve never opened one Sunday morning.

Intimate and playful: For this, “The Chosen” opts for “We/our, You/your, Conversational and Engaging. Personal over Plural” verbiage. And of course, don’t take yourself too seriously. Take a look back at how you’ve marketed your church in the past year, on social media, marketing materials, and any other way you addressed your community. Was it personal? Did you talk with them, or to them? Did you think you had to be serious and not conversational because you are a church? Don’t get lost in telling people to come to your church, rather, talk to them about your church. 

How can you achieve this? Take a breath, pause on the marketing, and just talk to people. Not every post on your church’s social media has to say “we’re great, come here.” See something funny or cool in your community? Share it and ask others what they thought about it. Did you recently go see "The Chosen" Season 4 episodes in the theater? Download their free episode discussion guides and start a conversation with others who also saw them. Don’t address the masses, speak to people one-on-one. Consider having your pastor(s) communicate with people on your church’s social media from time from their personal account(s).

Whether you’ve watched "The Chosen" from the very beginning, or you’ve just discovered it on a streaming platform, you know what an evolved story of modern-day branding, marketing and crowd-funding it truly is. From the theme song to the swimming fish graphic to the comedic phrase that is “soon”, you’ve seen these values in action and your loyalty is a testament to their story. Test out these takeaways and create a marketing story of your own!

Test out these takeaways and create a powerful marketing story of your own!